Les, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus answers the Lawyer's question of "And who is my neighbor?"
Samaritans were looked down on as lower-than-dirt by residents of Jerusalem (enemies), and were not associated with. After speaking the parable, Jesus asked, "Which of these was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves?"
The answer of course, as the lawyer correctly answered, was the Samaritan, who instead of passing by on the other side, stopped to help the man who had been beaten, robbed, and left for dead by the wayside.
So --- perhaps your Bible has simply replaced the word "neighbor" with "enemy", but in the context of what Jesus said, "love thy ____ as thyself", the words neighbor and enemy are one and the same.
Okay kids, Bible study is over for tonight ;-). |
